Friends Forever
by KDesai
Summary: Cisco gets a late night call from Barry after Zoom broke his back. Why? Read and find out :-)


**Hi friends! I had participated in a 2017 Fanfiction- Christmas- Spectacular that was arranged by SenseiGrace and Brentinator. I got VibeyCisco as my giftie and so this one shot is specially gifted and dedicated to VibeyCisco who herself is a awesome writer! I always thought when Zoom broke Barry's back he was very easily able to get on his feet. I added this kind of a missing scene in the episode with a little bromance between Barry and Cisco. I hope you like it. Sorry for mistakes!**

 **Enjoy :-)))**

Barry took a hot shower and wore his soft night clothes. It was the third day since he was back on his feet after zoom broke his back. It had been terrifying experience for him but his family and friends were there with him every step. After he send back Grodd to other dimension he had gain some of his confidence. Saying goodbye to Henry was again difficult for him as a part of him still wanted to spend time with his father

Today Barry was exhausted after a hectic day at station and fighting one stubborn meta who was a shape shifter. Barry had difficult time in catching the guy and in the end it tired him to no ends.

What nobody knew was the hero still had phantom pains in his back. It was worse when he slept at night after having worked whole day. Even with his healing powers, Barry could still feel the effects of his once broken back. He needed more time to heal. Barry knew the moment he told his team about the pains everybody will go on a protective mode and ask him to rest and take it easy. He had spend so much time in bed and wheelchair that the hero didn't even feel like sleeping in his own bed.

Barry was alone in the house as Joe was working late at the station. Barry offered to help but the older man denied seeing the tired look on his son and send him back home

Barry's muscles ached as soon as he laid on the bed. He let out a groan when his back shot a stinking pain, hands going to the area to soothe the ache but could only reach half way through. Barry took deep breaths to ease the sensation but his back was killing him. No matter what position he turned the pain just got doubled

Barry laid in same position for almost an hour and now he had to go to the bathroom. 'Perfect' he thought. He slowly got up from the bed and again groaned when he planted his feet on the floor. Gingerly pulling himself up, Barry switched on one small light. Little hunched down and a hand on his side, he staggered towards the bathroom.

Panting heavily Barry stood or rather swayed by the sink. He cried out and clutched the edge of the sink when without warning his back seized up and the pain there nearly tripled in intensity. Barry gasped, tears forming in his eyes. Damn he was hurting. He was hurting so bad that he could barely move

Barry's legs gave out and he sank down on the cold tiles. Wheezing he slumped against the wall behind and tried to get his breathing under control. It's gonna fade out. I will just have to wait for few minutes, thought Barry.

After sitting for nearly twenty minutes Barry felt the pain in his back was manageable. He grabbed the sink with shaky hands and pulled himself up "Aaaaahh!" The hero was back on the floor with a thud. His back felt like white hot pokers were being jabbed with full force. He cursed in frustration

The young hero wiped his oncoming tears and regretted not telling Caitlin about his back pains. Now he couldn't even move without jarring his back. It felt as if someone had put tons of loads on his back that was stopping him from moving.

Barry needed help

The only option right now was to call someome for help. Okay...first he had to get out of this bathroom, then go near his bed where he had kept his cell on the side table. He looked at the distance between his bathroom and the bed. Barely two feet difference was looking like thousand kilometres for Barry.

Barry took a deep breath. He could do this. He was the flash. His healing powers were doing its job but it wasn't enough for him. He still felt weak and couldn't pull himself up. Only option left was crawling. Barry dragged himself to undignified crawl. Pushing his legs he tried his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his back. The hero stopped at midway gasping for air as this short trip made him breathless. He could see his phone and new bout of tears fell from his eyes.

This was not him. He was not the flash. He was a pathetic loser who was on the floor suffering in his misery. He waited for another minute and gritted his teeth to moved forward. Barry cried out in relief and pain when he finally reached his bed. His eyes fell on the side table. He knew he will never be able to get up without help so Barry moved further and gave a light kick to the side table. He sighed when his phone fell beside him along with the table lamp. His jaw tightened when he saw there was only ten percent of the battery left. He had only one chance to make a call

Barry took the phone in his shaky hands and with trembling fingers he dialled a number. On the third ring he was rewarded with a voice

"Hello? Barry?"

"Ci...Cisco!"

Cisco was working on his computer when his phone rang. He frowned when he saw it was Barry calling him. It was already late and he knew how much his friend was tired after catching the shape shifter. His eyebrows shot up on hearing labored breaths from the other end "Barry? Are you alright?"

"Hurts.."

Cisco got up from his chair in alert position "Hurts? Are you hurt? What happened?" Where are you?" he fired all the questions at same time

"Home...my back..help!" Barry managed to get these words out and gasped loudly making Cisco's heartbeat racing like a runner in Olympics "Okay...okay...don't worry...stay put...I will be right there!"

As soon as Cisco hung up his call he dialled to Caitlin "Caitlin! Please tell me you haven't boarded the plane yet"

"Cisco? What happened?"

"Did you board the plane or not?" yelled Cisco in phone. Caitlin made a face "No Cisco. I just cleared immigration counter. Will you tell me why are you yelling?" Her aunt had undergone major heart surgery so Caitlin was going for couple of nights to visit her

"It's Barry! He is having some kind of serious back pain...he just called me...Cait he sounded bad"

Caitlin moved to a corner "What?! But Barry said he wasn't having any trouble in his back" Cisco ran a hand on his face "Look can you please come back... I am going at Barry's. He needs us Cait"

Caitlin nodded even though she knew Cisco couldn't see her "I will try to come as soon as possible...but it will take an hour" she said quickly calculating the distance between the airport to Barry's house and the traffic. Caitlin thought for a second "Listen Cisco take the injections that are kept in the left cupboard of the med bay. I have made high dosage of Tylenol specially for Barry...inject 70ml of the liquid. It will ease some pain"

"Got it!" Cisco hung up the phone

The phone slipped away from Barry's hand and he closed his eyes. Cisco will be here soon. His friend will be here soon. A fear build inside him while he was waiting for the engineer. What if his back has suffered some permanent damage. What if he has to go back to the wheelchair again. What if he wasn't able to run again. Barry cried. He cried openly. He missed his father and wished he was here right now

After ten minutes Barry was still on the cold floor when he heard a distant sound of tires screeching to halt. Cisco had come "Cis..Cisco!"

Cisco slammed on the brakes as he reached Barry's house. 'Hurts' and 'Help' these two words were bouncing in his head. He was on the front door and panicked when he saw it was locked. The engineer looked around and ran to the nearest window and mentally thanked god that it was open. He crawled inside the small space and stumbled into the hall. Taking long steps Cisco ran to Barry's room "Barry!"

Cisco switched on the rest of the lights and saw his friend's condition. Barry's eyes were glazed with pain and was sweating badly. He reached out with one hand "Cisco!"

The engineer wasted no time further and ran towards his friend "Hey hey...take it easy. I am here. Can you tell me where it hurts?" Barry nodded "My.. back... z..zoom"

Cisco cursed loudly "Barry you should have told us! Why aren't you taking this seriously?" he saw Barry had closed his eyes, in pain or guilt Cisco didn't didn't know. He quickly pulled out the syringe "I am going to give you painkiller Caitlin has created for you. Hang on" he injected the syringe in Barry's arm. Cisco thought he had to get his friend off this cold floor "Come on let me help you"

Barry opened his eyes "Can't move. It hurts so bad" Cisco ran a hand on Barry's upper back "I know buddy but we cannot stay in this floor forever. It will some time for the meds to work. I will help you. I promise I will be very gentle. Trust me"

Barry locked his eyes with Cisco and got the assurance he needed. He trusted his friend. The hero slowly nodded and Cisco gently lifted his friend carrying most of his weight on his shoulders "Easy...easy I got you"

Feeling Cisco's strong arms around him Barry felt all the tension slipping away. He felt safe. But soon pain flared through his back and he hissed involuntarily, reflexively clenching his hands around his friend "I can't" Cisco tightened his hold "Yes you can Barry. We are almost there. I am not going to let go...come on let's do this together" Barry took another shuddering breath as Cisco finally lowered him carefully on the bed and slowly pulled his legs up "There you go. See...you are fine"

Barry panted on bed clearly trying to fight back the pain. He placed his hand over his eyes hiding the tears that fell shamelessly "I won't be able to walk again... I won't..."

Cisco frowned at his friend "Barry what are you saying? You will be fine. Cait will be here soon. I also called Joe on the way. They are coming dude. If you still feel the pain we will take you to the labs and find another way to ease your pain. Don't give up Barry. You just rest and will be good as new"

Barry shook his head and gritted his teeth "No..you are wrong...I will never be fine. What if these pains never go? What if they stay with me forever? I will never be flash again...never...I am damaged" his voice sounded hurt, like he had lost all the hope in the world.

Cisco took a step near the bed "Are you crazy? Do you even hear yourself Barry Allen? You are the strongest person I have come to know in this world. You are a hero and heroes never give up hope...never! You have fought Thawne, Zoom and many countless metas. Saved thousands of lives. You always think about others happiness. You have a great heart Barry. I consider myself lucky to have a friend like you who is more of a brother to me"

Barry looked into his friend's eyes. Cisco's sincere words touched his heart. The amount of support he gave was beyond words. The hero hitched a breath "You are wrong..." Cisco was about to argue when Barry continued "I am the lucky person. You are the best brother here" he smiled and extended his hand. Cisco returned his smile with his own and squeezed Barry's hand "Don't ever scare me again like that"

"Thank you"

"Thank you for not giving up. Fight Barry and be strong. We all are here for you" said Cisco

Barry nodded feeling his eyes droop. Cisco knew the meds were doing it's work. Cisco saw Barry had fallen asleep within seconds his body relaxed and breathing evenly. He slowly covered the hero with a blanket and pulled a chair to sit beside him not wanting to leave his friend alone "Goodnight my friend"

 **A huuuge thank you to SenseiGrace and Brentinator for starting this celebration. I hope you liked this one shot. Please do review and tell :-)))**


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